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The West or the Occident refers to various nations of western Europe and North America, as well as Australia and New Zealand, which despite regional differences, non-Western native cultures and influence from immigrant communities sometimes is seen as comprising a single civilization – although definitions of the term differ significantly.

The West has a complex and mixed cultural heritage dating back more than three millennia, shaped by the rise and fall of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, the colonization of North America and Oceania, and the Industrial Revolution. Countless kingdoms, republics, and empires have left archaeological sites, old towns, and megacities for you to explore.

Regions

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Map of the West (North Atlantic)

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Map of the West (Australia and New Zealand)

The following regions are generally considered Western, but there is no universal definition. All of central Europe would nowadays be included by most definitions and much or all of eastern Europe by some. Also other regions are included by some definitions.

Southern Europe (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta)
The birthplace of the Western civilization.

Western Europe (The Benelux, Britain and Ireland, Central Europe, France, Iberia, the Nordic countries)
The pre-modern center of the Western world.

North America (Canada, Greenland, United States)

Oceania (Australia, New Zealand)

Understand

History

The origin of the Western civilization can be traced back to the ancient Mediterranean world, with the Ancient Greece and Rome being considered the birthplaces of the Western civilization. Major advances in philosophy, literature, science, aesthetics, engineering, warfare, governance, and religion shaped the Greco-Roman culture. The eventual Christianization of much of Europe in late antiquity would ensure that Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church, remained a dominant force in the Western culture for many centuries to follow.

The concept of the West started to take shape in the 4th century CE when Christian Roman emperor Constantine the Great divided the empire between the Greek East and Latin West. The Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire, continued for a millennium, while the Western Roman Empire lasted for only about a century and a half.

In 1054, when the church in Rome excommunicated the patriarch of Byzantium, the division between the Western church and Eastern church culminated in the Great Schism. Even though friendly relations continued between the two parts of Christendom for some time, the crusades made the schism definitive with hostility. The West during these crusades tried to capture trade routes to the East and failed; the West instead discovered the Americas at the doorstep to the Renaissance.

During the Age of Discovery, the period of colonization involving Western European powers, an idea of the "Western" world emerged, which was solidified by the intellectuals who associated it not only with Christianity but also with the intellectual and political achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The widespread influence of Western culture extended globally through imperialism and colonialism by Western powers from the 15th to the 20th century, and continues to this day through the exportation of mass culture.

Culture

The Western culture encompasses the social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts, and technologies rooted in European and Mediterranean histories, and later circulated around the world through colonization and globalization.

Despite being the core of Christianity since late antiquity, the West has been known for its irreligious sentiments since the mid-20th century with the separation of church and state, and the secularization of the Western world.

Although the West is often stereotyped as the "homeland" for white people, the notion is being changed since the 1960s due to the civil rights movements and liberal laws in various countries.

Climate

Most of the West has a temperate climate. The European side of the Atlantic Ocean is milder than that of North America due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. Parts of Alaska, Greenland, northern Canada and the Nordic countries are in the Arctic, with cold winters and cool summers.

Get in

Much of the West has strict visa and immigration policies for non-Western travellers; getting into the West can be more difficult than getting out of it. Don't count on visas on arrival; you may need to visit the appropriate embassy far from home both for applying and for getting your visa – if it is granted.

Flying is the most common way to get into the West since the late 20th century, with many non-Western airlines serving Western destinations and vice versa.

Travelling to the West by boat or overland is possible but can be challenging, depending on the local political situation. Between Asia and Europe, the Silk Road was popular for caravans in ancient and medieval times, and the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Hippie Trail were considered legendary in the 1960s and 70s. However, following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the civil war in Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all these routes have became difficult. Latin Americans may use the Pan-American Highway to get to the border of the United States overland, although flying is much easier.

Stay safe

Although the Western countries are generally safe, non-Western travellers can be subject of cultural stereotypes and racism in some countries.